The Law of Moses, or any other inferior law, can never save anyone. It can only define sin and condemn men for practicing it. The Law points out the problem, but it provides no solution. The Law did bear witness to the righteousness of God in Christ. The salvation which He provided on the cross of Calvary was not through the Law but apart from it. The Law cannot justify sinners. The Law of Moses does define righteous conduct. God saved us in order that we might manifest His righteousness. Thus, the lawlessness of our former lifestyle must not continue on, now that we have been justified by faith, identified with our Lord Jesus Christ in His death (to sin), burial, and resurrection (to newness of life). The righteousness which our salvation requires cannot be produced by law-keeping, by rules and regulations. Here, in sanctification, as was also true in regard to our justification, the Law cannot produce righteous living and even passively promotes sin. Sanctification, like justification, comes about apart from the Law. Our bondage to sin is linked to our bondage to the Law. The solution to this problem is the cross of Calvary. In Christ, we died to the Law and to its reign over us. In dying to the Law, sin no longer has mastery over us. Death to the Law, and its strong pull on our fallen flesh, is to be replaced by a life lived through God’s Spirit. Before Paul expounds this new life in the Spirit, he must speak a word in defense of the Law. This he does in Romans 7:7-25. He will show us that the Law itself is “holy, righteous, and good” (7:12), but that sin uses the Law to appeal to our flesh and to overpower us. Then, in chapter 8, he will explain how the power of God, manifested through the Holy Spirit, enables us to serve God in spite of sin and the flesh. How foolish and ignorant are those who would suppose that the work of Jesus Christ on Calvary was accomplished on our behalf, so that we could continue to live in sin. How foolish also are those who would say that the righteousness which God requires can be produced through law-keeping. The cross of Calvary forbids both lawlessness and law-keeping as a way of life. Walking in the Spirit is the only way of sanctification. Law-keeping will not save us and neither will it sanctify us. Romans 6:1–7:1-6 has many implications and applications for Christians in our day. Before we conclude, allow me to step back and view our text in its broader context, suggesting some of the applications of Paul’s words to our own lives. (1) Paul does not portray living in sin as a life of pleasure and delight, given up for the sake of a monastic existence. All too often, Christians seem to think of the Christian life negatively, in terms of all that they have given up. The former life of sin, which the Christian must leave behind, Paul views as that of which we should be glad to be rid. Before our salvation, we lived in ways that now make us ashamed (6:21). We were on a path which led to death (6:23), and we were enslaved to a cruel master (6:17). Christians who give up sin have given up nothing of value. We have lost nothing and have gained everything. Too many Christians view the Christian life differently. They seem to think that they have given up a great deal and that their gains are minimal. Giving up sin is not a sacrifice. We should agonize as little over giving up sin as we do over taking out the trash. (2) Paul does not speak of obedience to Christ and living righteously as the high road which some Christians take and which the majority reject for the lower road of mere salvation. I know it is popularly taught that salvation and discipleship are separate issues. Thus, they say, one can be saved without being informed about and making a commitment to obeying Christ as Master. This simply does not square with Paul’s teaching in Romans. He says that when these saints were saved, they committed themselves to teaching which informed them of what salvation and sanctification involved (6:17). Paul does not speak of “two paths for Christians,” one of mere salvation and the other of discipleship. He speaks of two paths, the path of sin, leading to death, and the path of righteousness, leading to eternal life. The low road is the path of sin. The high road is the path of righteousness, leading to life. Whenever the Christian departs from this “high road,” he does not lose his salvation, but he does leave the path of life. No wonder Paul warns the sinning saint about death (see 1 Corinthians 5:5; 11:30).158 Just as the New Testament never conceives of a person coming to faith in Christ apart from submitting to baptism, so the New Testament never conceives of someone coming to faith in Christ apart from turning from sin and practicing righteousness. (3) God sent His Son to provide sinners with the forgiveness of sins, and freedom from sin, but not to provide freedom to sin. (4) To Paul, the cross is the central truth of the gospel, the key not only to our salvation but also to our sanctification. Over and over, Paul returns to the cross of Calvary. “In Christ” is the not only one of the most common expressions found in Paul’s epistles, it is the key to Christian living. We are justified, in Christ. We are sanctified, in Christ. We are enriched with all spiritual blessings, in Christ. We are eternally secure, in Christ. We are victorious, in Christ. In the minds of many Christians, it is not like this. Christ is seen as the starting point, but that is all. Christ is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega, and everything in between. All things are from Him, through Him, and unto Him (Romans 11:36). Many Christians have begun with Christ, only to endeavor to find victory over sin through some other means. The cross of Christ is the only means of salvation, and it is the only means of sanctification. All things are summed up in Christ (see Colossians 1 and 2). Let us turn to no other than Christ and His cross. No wonder Paul’s only message was concerning Christ, crucified and raised from the dead (see 1 Corinthians 1 and 2). Christ alone is sufficient. Christ alone is our strength. Christ alone should be the object of our instruction, our devotion, and our dependence. (5) Legalism is one of the great threats to the Christian of our day, not just to those of Paul’s day. It is certainly true that we can find ample evidence of license and libertinism in the church today. But the danger about which Paul warns us in our text is legalism. Legalism is not the cure for license. Grace is not an excuse for sin, but it does provide the cure for sin. It is not Law but grace which the church needs more of today. When I speak of legalism, I am not speaking only of the danger of those who would seek to put all Christians under the bondage of the Law of Moses. I am speaking of the temptation to put Christians under rules and regulations, thinking that obedience to these rules will defeat sin and result in righteousness. Paul says in our text that legalism may look good but that it utterly fails to produce righteousness. This is consistent with his teaching elsewhere: If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (which all refer to things destined to perish with the using)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence (Colossians 2:20-23). Legalism will take forms in the church which have, as Paul states above, “the appearance of wisdom,” but which are of no value at all so far as overcoming the flesh. I wish to mention one current emphasis in Christian circles which, although it may have some elements of truth, is a teaching which tends toward legalism. It is the teaching concerning “accountability” to one another. I believe the Bible clearly teaches our responsibility to one another, but I do not see the Scriptures teaching accountability in the way it is being presently taught and practiced. It sounds pious and encouraging to hear of one teen calling another to see if they have had their devotions, but is this a form of legalism? Are we accountable to God or to men? I am not saying that such teaching is completely wrong, but I am saying that it has the potential for legalism. Let us be on guard for legalism, whatever the form it may take. Rules and regulations do not make men righteous. Christ died to Law, that it might no longer bind us and so that we might be free, not to live in sin, but to be joined to Christ and to bear the fruit of righteousness. (6) While the Law does not solve the problem of sin, neither is the Law evil. The Law is a problem. Legalism is an error with dangerous and deadly outworkings. Nevertheless, let us not wrongly jump to the conclusion that the Law is entirely evil and useless. The Law is “holy, righteous, and good” (7:12). Paul does not say that the gospel utterly condemns the Law, but that it “establishes the Law” (3:31). Those who walk in the Spirit “fulfill the requirement of the Law” (8:4). Paul will clearly defend the Law in the remainder of chapter 7. I simply remind you here of the goodness of the Law, even though it cannot save or sanctify men. As I conclude, let me say a final word to any of you who may not yet have come to faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. Christianity has always had its hypocrites and its bad examples. There are those who would abuse the grace of God, making it an excuse (perhaps even a mandate) for their sin. They are wrong! There are also those who would seek to put Christians under a long list of rules, usually Don’ts. These folks are wrong too. Justification by faith is God’s solution for sin and its consequences. Justification by faith is God’s provision of righteousness, so that men might be saved, and so that they might manifest His righteousness in their lives. If you would be free from the burden of your sin, receive God’s gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. Trust in Him as the One who died in your place, bearing the punishment for your sins. Receive from Him that righteousness which you can never produce by your own efforts. Forsake your unrighteousness, and turn to Him who alone can make you righteous. Do it today.
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 01:52:49 +0000